Former Texas A&M running back John David Crow, who won the 1957 Heisman Trophy, poses with current Texas A&M freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel, who is a Heisman finalist, Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012, at Kyle Field in College Station. (Edward A. Ornelas / San Antonio Express-News)

Former Texas A&M running back John David Crow, who won the 1957...

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Former Texas A&M running back John David Crow, who won the 1957 Heisman Trophy, poses with current Texas A&M freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel, who is a Heisman finalist, Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012, at Kyle Field in College Station. (Edward A. Ornelas / San Antonio Express-News)

Former Texas A&M running back John David Crow, who won the 1957...

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Former Texas A&M running back John David Crow, who won the 1957 Heisman Trophy, autographs footballs as current Texas A&M freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel, who is a Heisman finalist, and his dad Paul Manziel look on after a portrait session Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012, at Kyle Field in College Station. (Edward A. Ornelas / San Antonio Express-News)

Former Texas A&M running back John David Crow, who won the 1957...

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SMU wasn't the only defense that couldn't keep up with Johnny Football this season. (Smiley N. Pool/Chronicle)

SMU wasn't the only defense that couldn't keep up with Johnny...

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Johnny Manziel's athleticism is most evident on his frequent scrambles.

COLLEGE STATION — On the same ground where Johnny Manziel deftly scrambled this season, the Heisman Trophy finalist stood still — for once — and absorbed one tale after another from A&M's original Heisman legend.

John David Crow, a strapping running back who 55 years earlier had churned up the soil on Kyle Field en route to the Heisman, held the rapt attention of Manziel, a swift quarterback and self-described college football historian.

"Nobody knew much about the Heisman then," Crow told Manziel on Tuesday in the first meeting between the two Aggies, separated by 57 years but bound by the Heisman. "It's different now — it's just at a different level."

Manziel, who turns 20 on Thursday, nodded his head.

"Yes, sir, and I'm enjoying it," he said, smiling.

"That's right," Crow said. "And just keep enjoying it."

Crow, the 1957 Heisman winner, and Manziel, this year's frontrunner for college football's most prestigious award, shook hands for the first time on the field where the Aggies have played football for more than a century. A&M wraps up its 10-2 season on Jan. 4 in the Cotton Bowl against 10-2 Oklahoma, but between now and then rests a load of Heisman hoopla.

"Remember your friends," Crow told the youngster as they posed for pictures. "And don't forget how you got here."

In good handsManziel assured his elder he would and wouldn't, and the two spent much of the next hour talking football and life, as a camera clicked away. When the photographer assured the men it would be OK if they fumbled a football while tossing it in the air for a picture, the 77-year-old Crow chuckled.

"Why are you talking directly to me about dropping the ball?" he wondered.

Chimed in Manziel, "He's got better hands than me."

Their four strong hands belong to the only two Heisman finalists from A&M over the past 55 years. Crow won the award over Iowa tackle Alex Karras, while Manziel is competing with Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o and Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein for the top prize. The ceremony is Saturday night in New York.

A few feet away, Paul and Michelle Manziel absorbed the Heisman history before them and simply smiled at one of the rewards for their son's unwavering dedication to football — pictures with a Heisman legend. Manziel is the Southeastern Conference record holder for total yards in a season, set in the Aggies' first season in the SEC and Manziel's first year of college football action.

"You couldn't dream this up," said Paul, a strapping man in his own right who bears a striking semblance to former A&M quarterback Bucky Richardson. "What an honor. Johnny's worked hard, and I couldn't be prouder as a father."

"We're overwhelmed," said Michelle, an attractive and convivial blonde who also kidded about Johnny's pile of dirty laundry in his College Station home — one sign he's still only a college student. "It's very surreal, and we're just trying to take it all in."

Carry-on trophyCrow knows the feeling. In 1957, the Heisman folks asked Crow if he'd like them to ship his trophy home to Springhill, La., following the ceremony.

"No, I just took it, walked out with it and took it to the airport," Crow said, chuckling. "When I got there, I asked, 'Where can I put this?' They put it in a coat closet on the plane. They probably wouldn't let me carry it on today."

Such an image prompted a grin from Manziel.

"Could you see Cam Newton walking through the airport now with his Heisman Trophy?" Manziel said of Auburn's 2010 Heisman winner.

Simply awesome"I just look at it and want to open the case, take it out and hold it for a minute," Manziel said. "Now, to get to go to New York and experience all of this — it's going to be awesome."

Manziel and Crow were born more than five decades apart, but the two are also tied by Manziel's last word, which best describes the one-time scene in Crow's charmed life — and the scene to come in Manziel's.

"Johnny's a good Aggie, and if you're a good Aggie, that means you're a darn good person," Crow said of his first impression of Manziel, who spent the entire conversation sprinkling in "sirs" to the A&M idol. "I'm really proud of him, and you can tell his parents raised him right. I'm also proud he's a finalist, but the game isn't over yet.